Pages

A Hop, Skip and Jump over to Northern Ireland

So last week I was lucky enough to be able to take a quick break from my life of job-hunting, interviews and weekend working and pop over to Northern Ireland to visit my lovely friend Jenny who I met on my travels last year. Shockingly, having lived in Scotland all my life and the South-West coast for the majority of this time I have never popped over the water to Northern Ireland, though I have been to Dublin (which I loved!).

Despite knowing the flight was a short one, this didn't mean I was any less surprised that after only being in the air for 5 minutes the captain announces: "Cabin crew prepare the cabin for landing." It was just as well really as it wasn't the smoothest of flights!

It was lovely to see Jenny again (the last time we saw each other, we remembered, was saying goodbye at the bottom of a random tower block in Bangkok where we had just done karaoke) and she was such a wonderful host/tour guide and gave me a whistle-stop tour of Belfast and the next day, some of the North coast.

On Day 1, I was whisked away from the airport, taken to the Botanical Gardens, to the Ulster Museum, past Queen's University, through the town centre and to the Titanic Museum.

Belfast City Hall

View from the top of the Victoria Centre

The Victoria Centre all Halloween'd up


We went for a scrummy lunch at Avoca, which I would highly recommend. A huge choice (even for veggies, like Jenny) and a lovely homey feel.


I was so excited to visit the Titanic Museum. To be honest, the most impressive bit was probably the architecture of the building itself but the museum is still worth a visit. My favourite bit was reading some real stories of passengers, and having a peek at what some of the rooms really looked like.

I liked Belfast much more than I expected. I loved that from most places in the city, you could see the countryside and from anywhere in the city be very close to the suburbs. It seems like a great place to live.

That evening, Jenny took me to her local, Horatio Todd's. I honestly wish I could transport Horatio Todd's to my town, because I just loved it. The cocktails were delicious and only £5, it had a lovely lively mix of clientele, live acoustic performances and great banter.  It was Hallowe'en and all the staff were dressed up which made it extra fun too.

Although to be honest, it might not be the same if it wasn't in Belfast because Irish people just make a great atmosphere wherever they go. So...if I could move HT's to Scotland WITH all the Irish people...ok I'm getting carried away with myself. Basically, it's just a bar but if you are after nice surroundings, nice drinks and good chat then I would highly recommend a visit next time you're in Belfast.

Cute Instagram shot courtesy of Jenny (oh how I long for an iPhone)

The next day, surprisingly not too worse for wear, we headed up to the North Coast. Jenny very kindly spent the majority of her day in the car in order to get us there and back in time for my early evening flight! 

First stop was, of course, the Giant's Causeway which is one of these iconic sights that still amazes you to see it in person. The Causeway has the distinctive columns it has because of volcanic activity a long, long time ago but the story of an Scottish giant causing the rifts as he ran away from an Irish giant is just more fun, isn't it?






We were so, so lucky with the weather and the scenery was breathtaking.

After a walk back up the hill where I became embarassingly out of breath (I really need to get back into exercising) we headed over to Dunluce castle which was built in the 1500s and is now ruins but amazingly well preserved.





As the sun started to set, it was time to head back and for Jenny to drop me at the airport.

The couple of days away were exactly what I needed and I will definitely be back to Northern Ireland at some point because it seems there is plenty more to be seen!

Have you been to Northern Ireland or fancy going? What was your favourite thing there/would you most like to see?

4 comments:

  1. Wow this looks beautiful!

    I've always wanted to go to Ireland, and these are making me long to go.

    Hmm maybe...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was amazing! Though we were very lucky with the weather. I will definitely be going back sometime! xx

      Delete
  2. I'm glad you enjoyed the trip! The North Coast is absolutely beautiful, especially in summer - a visit to the seaside town of Portrush (for ice-cream and walks along the beach, as well as a small set of themed rides) is a must. There are some lovely restaurants around the area as well, serving good, homely food. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I was really disappointed I didn't have more time there, and we were meant to go to a restaurant on the North Coast that apparently did amazing food but ended up not having enough time for that! Just an excuse to visit again I guess :) xx

      Delete